Managing a Creative Life in a Chaotic World

The Secret

Some years ago I worked for an advertising agency and my boss teased me on a daily basis that he had “discovered” the secret to creating art. I desperately wanted to learn this secret. After numerous bribes, unbridled flattery, and out adn out pleading, he finally deemed me worthy and revealed “the secret” to me. And, you know what? I’d known it all along. It’s the thing that makes all creative work successful whether it be visual art, music, writing, choreography, or cake decorating. The Secret? True art solicits a response. It might be revulsion, amusement, anger, fright, or any other of a number of responses. It is not about soliciting envy or admiration. Nor is it about caling the creator to mind. Art is about feeling something and expressing it clearly. Art is striking at the heart of truth and hitting the mark.